The Anishinabek Nation is calling on decisionmakers in Ottawa and Queen’s Park to pause three bills it says put First Nations’ treaty rights at risk.
The first is Federal Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, would set one-year deadlines for federal reviews of big projects such as mines, pipelines and power lines, and make Ottawa’s fast-track law for “projects of national interest” permanent. Second is Ontario’s Bill 140, the Building Ontario Faster Act, would cut provincial red tape, including some environmental reviews and ways for the public to object.
Both governments say faster approvals mean a stronger economy and more jobs, and Ottawa says C-39 keeps strong environmental safeguards while respecting Indigenous rights.
The third, federal Bill S-2, changes the Indian Act rules on who can register for First Nations status. Last year the Senate amended it to end the “second-generation cut-off,” a 1985 rule that stops status from passing down after two consecutive generations of parenting with a non-status partner. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty has said she wants to end it, but only after more consultation with First Nations.
In a Nov. 9 statement, the Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 First Nations and about 70,000 citizens across Ontario, says governments are using uncertainty over Canada–U.S. trade to rush through legislation that ignores or undermines First Nations’ inherent and treaty rights.
It warns that shortened timelines could compromise meaningful consultation, that weaker environmental and public oversight treats First Nations’ rights “as obstacles to be managed rather than obligations to be upheld,” and that the legislation is designed to criminalize efforts to protect First Nations’ territories. On S-2, it calls addressing the cut-off a priority.
“Speed is not consent, nor is it honourable,” Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige said. “Economic urgency does not erase the Crown’s constitutional duties, including its obligations under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and the duty to consult and accommodate.”
Section 35 recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights, and courts have ruled that the Crown must consult First Nations, and accommodate them where appropriate, when its decisions could affect those rights.
The organization wants both governments to pause any approach that violates treaty rights, disclose the bills’ full implications and work directly with affected First Nations. The Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation have separately called for C-39’s withdrawal.
Rainy River District First Nations belong to Treaty #3 and are represented by a separate body, Grand Council Treaty #3. But all three bills would apply here, and the region’s representatives sit on the government side in both capitals: Thunder Bay—Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski is a Liberal, and Kenora—Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford is Ontario’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation.
Bills C-39 and 140 build on two fast-track laws passed in 2025 as governments looked to blunt the hit of U.S. tariffs: federal Bill C-5, which created the Building Canada Act, and Ontario’s Bill 5, which allows “special economic zones.” The Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 unanimously opposed Ontario’s bill at its spring 2025 assembly in Niisaachewan First Nation.
A Commons committee was set to begin clause-by-clause review of C-39 in mid-November; S-2 remains before another Commons committee. Bill 140 passed second reading Nov. 2; Ontario’s Standing Committee on the Interior holds hearings on it in Toronto Nov. 17 and is accepting written submissions until 6 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Central) that day.
“The Anishinabek Nation will continue to defend our inherent and treaty rights and insist that legislation affecting our people and lands be developed through a process grounded in respect, transparency, meaningful engagement, and the honour of the Crown,” Debassige said.
